Ghana has decided to resort to international arbitration to resolve its maritime border dispute with Togo, after eight years of bilateral negotiations failed to produce an agreement, the Ghanaian Presidency announced on Friday.

The Ghanaian Government officially notified the Togolese authorities of its decision to initiate arbitration proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to reach a definitive delimitation of the maritime border between the two countries.

In a statement released on Friday by the Presidency, the authorities explained that despite sustained engagement from both parties over eight years, discussions had not resulted in a mutually agreed agreement.

Ghana said that it had opted for this legal route to prevent any further escalation of incidents that had created tensions between certain institutions of the two countries, while prioritizing a peaceful solution in accordance with international law, in a spirit of good neighborliness and continued cooperation.

However, no official reaction from Togolese authorities was immediately available.

The incidents related to the maritime dispute between Ghana and Togo stem from the lack of a formally defined and mutually recognized maritime border, which, according to Togolese authorities during bilateral meetings on the issue in Lomé, “sometimes leads to regrettable maritime incidents.”

These disagreements primarily concern the recognition of a maritime boundary and maritime practices, APA News reported. Ghana asserts the existence of a traditionally respected border, which Togo contests, maintaining that no official delimitation has ever been established, thus contributing to operational tensions at sea.